UMUR "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here" is the 5th full-length studio album by US alternative rock/metal act Alice in Chains. The album was released through Capitol Records in May 2013. It´s the group´s second album after they made their recording comeback with "Black Gives Way To Blue (2009)" and the second with lead vocalist William DuVall. Most people are probably familiar with the band´s history of great commercial success in the early- to mid nineties, the long hiatus as a result of lead vocalist Layne Staley´s growing problems with drug addiction and his untimely death of a drug overdose in April 2002. But thankfully Alice in Chains reunited in 2005 with the inclusion of new lead vocalist William DuVall and seem hell bent to keep releasing dark and heavy rock music despite past issues and obstacles.

Stylistically "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here" pretty much continue down the same musical path as "Black Gives Way To Blue (2009)". It´s dark, laid back and heavy rock music with the distinct sounding signature harmony vocals courtesy of William DuVall and Jerry Cantrell on top. Sometimes I wish they would sing more lead and spice it up with harmonies instead of the other way around, but I guess that´s one of the elements in their sound that makes them unique. The tracks seldom break out of the vers/chorus formula, but there is an intro here, a middle section there and some very strong soloing on the tracks too. Like the case was with the predecessor, not all tracks stand out equally much, but all material on the album are still of good quality. Tracks like "Hollow", "Stone" and the title track are highlights to my ears, but there are also other standout tracks on the album.

It´s an album that requires several spins to fully sink in though and if I have to make a critique, it would be about the fact that the album is almost 70 minutes long and that the tracks are generally too long and repetitive. It would be nice if the band didn´t repeat their vers/chorus sections 3 times in each track, when those sections are as long as they are. To my ears a more trimmed songwriting would have made the music more effectful. When that is said, "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here" is still a quality release by Alice in Chains. The musicianship is excellent, the sound production professional, detailed and powerful and the best tracks on the album are very high quality material. Therefore a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

adg211288 When they made a comeback with Black Gives Way to Blue (2009), their first album without their iconic frontman Layne Staley, who died in 2002, Seattle grunge legends Alice in Chains defied all expectations. Although there was a faction amongst the group’s fanbase who took the ‘No Layne, no Chains’ view to the new music, which was their first album since their self-titled third effort (1995), I think that more people, myself included, were surprised at how well Black Gives Way to Blue fitted into the existing Alice in Chains back catalogue. In my view, which I acknowledge a minority opinion, the album even surpassed the group’s classic release Dirt (1992). Even though the absence of Layne’s distinctive vocals was felt, Jerry Cantrell had always been the main writer of the group and Black Gives Way to Blue ended up a real belter of an album that showed off all the best aspects of what made Alice in Chains one of rock/metal’s true classic acts.

The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (2013) is the follow-up to that album, the group’s fifth overall. The comeback was the time to be sceptical about the band’s return; as of this album Alice in Chains really have nothing to prove, and new guy William DuVall is now firmly established in the band, making the four piece as strong a unit as they’ve ever been. For me there question is not so much if the band can deliver another great album to their discography, but one of what sort of scale they’d do it on.

And naturally they haven’t disappointed, although I will say from the off that I don’t think The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here manages to have quite the same impact as Black Gives Way to Blue did. While there are several top quality Alice in Chains tracks here, including both pre-release singles Hollow and Stone, overall there are less highlights than there were on Black Gives Way to Blue. The early tracks of the album do come across as being particularly stronger than the latter stages, with the rather eerie title track quickly establishing itself as the must-hear song from the album.

The actual style of the album is a little different to its predecessor. While the alternative metal/grunge sound of Alice in Chains remains intact, instead of drawing on hard rock, there are some clear alternative rock elements to be heard, not least in Voices, which wouldn’t go amiss on any record by massive alt rockers Foo Fighters. This does make the album seem not as heavy overall, but Alice in Chains can handle both directions with ease. The only song on the album that doesn’t sit so well with me is Lab Monkey, which I find to drag a bit, but the rest of the album ranges from solid songs to new Alice in Chains classics.

The Devil Puts Dinosaurs Here further cements my regard for Alice in Chains as the best act out of the grunge era and although I ultimately didn’t enjoy it as much, this is a very worthy follow-up to Black Gives Way to Blue. An exceptional grade rating is deserved.

88/100

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven: http://metaltube.freeforums.org/alice-in-chains-the-devil-put-dinosaurs-here-t3006.html)

FunkyM In a way it seems fitting that 90's grunge dinosaurs Alice in Chains' new album is titled The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here. The band had been dormant for over a decade and following the deaths of former members Layne Staley (vocals) and Mike Starr (bass), it seemed like a reunion was impossible.

However, Alice in Chains rose from the tar pits of 90's nostalgia a couple years ago with a new lead singer in the form of William DuVall. The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here is the follow up to their 2008 comeback album, Black Gives Way to Blue.

The album starts off very well with a couple of churning mid-tempo sludge rockers, including the first two singles, "Hollow" and "Stone". "Stone" in particular has a nice riff from guitarist Jerry Cantrell which helps carry the song. The second track on the album, "Pretty Done" is also noteworthy. These openers tread on the border of modern hard rock and an almost doom metal sound, which is quite an interesting mix.

"Voices" is the latest single from this album and harkens back a bit more to the band's 90's sound. It acts as a bit of a breather after the opening trio.

Next we get to the somewhat controversial title track. "The Devil Put Dinosaurs" here is supposedly meant as a commentary on the hypocrisy of some fundamentalist religious believers. I'm pretty liberal and have no problem with sociopolitical commentary in song lyrics, but the quality of lyrics like "The devil put dinosaurs here/Jesus don't like a queer" are very debatable. An even bigger problem is that at six minutes thirty-nine seconds the song is just too damn long and repetitive.

"Lab Monkey" also suffers from being bit too long and plodding, but the band recovers on the next two tracks, "Low Ceiling" and "Breath on a Window", which both feature some great guitar work, vocals and songwriting.

The remaining songs on the album are bit of a mixed bag, but overall there's more good than bad to be found. In particular, I found "Phantom Limb" to be one of the highlights of the album. It starts off with some killer guitar riffs and manages to keep up the pace enough to justify its seven minute running time.

The closer, "Choke", is also pretty catchy and I could see it as being a potential single.

Overall, while there are a few tracks which can drag a bit and the production and songwriting evolved slightly to fit into the modern era, The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here is a very good hard rock/alternative rock album. Fans of the band shouldn't find this album to be sacrilegious.

Highlights: "Hollow", "Stone", "Low Ceiling", "Phantom Limb", "Choke"